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The ultimate guide to what’s on in London right now. This is the place to find the latest information on London events, shows, and exhibitions. Plus the best places in London to places to eat, drink, dance and more. Stay up to date with what’s on in London with Now.Here.This.Tue, 03 Mar 2015 18:18:54 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.8.5Now. Here. This. - Time Out Londonhttp://blog.anika.d//wp-content/plugins/to-feedme/images/now-here-this.pnghttp://now-here-this.timeout.com
7575The ultimate guide to what’s on in London right now. This is the place to find the latest information on London events, shows, and exhibitions. Plus the best places in London to places to eat, drink, dance and more. Stay up to date with what’s on in London with Now.Here.This.Fan fun: Harry Potter versus ‘Game of Thrones’http://now-here-this.timeout.com/2015/02/05/fan-fun-harry-potter-versus-game-of-thrones/
http://now-here-this.timeout.com/2015/02/05/fan-fun-harry-potter-versus-game-of-thrones/#commentsThu, 05 Feb 2015 10:00:17 +0000http://now-here-this.timeout.com/?p=189160

Seems like London’s living a fantasy life. Which of these two is the event of your dreams?

WE LOVE HARRY POTTER!

WHAT IS IT? A night out to celebrate the first global Harry Potter Book Night, hosted by author Damian Kelleher. The audience will choose which sections of the Hogwarts stories will feature as readings.

WHY SHOULD I GO? There will be prizes for the most imaginative fancy dress, so go to town on your witch or wizard costume. The entertainment factor will be upped by some special guests, including performance artist and ‘Darcy Burdock’ author Laura Dockrill, and you’ll get an insight into the digital magic that goes into the making of the Pottermore website. Plus illustrator Jonny Duddle (can we call him ‘Dudders’?) will talk about taking on the purists when he reimagined the characters for a new edition of the series last year. With the record-breaking series – and the movie versions – done and dusted, Potter fans can get excited at revisiting the magic.

WHAT IS IT? An exhibition of artefacts from pivotal scenes plus sneak previews from the forthcoming series.

WHY SHOULD I GO? You’ll be able to join a House (no Sorting Hat required but it’s a stark choice: George RR Martin’s clans all make Slytherin look like Gryffindor), and attempt to seize the Iron Throne. Plus ride the winch elevator at Castle Black in a 4D virtual reality experience which sounds like quite a ride, given that it comes with the disclaimer that to particpate, ‘you must not suffer from any physical or mental condition which may be triggered by stress or excitement.’

WHERE? The O2, Peninsula Square, SE10 0DX.

WHEN? Mon Feb 9, Feb 12, Feb 15, Feb 17.

HOW MUCH? Entry’s free. The snag is that only Sky TV customers can claim tickets. But they get to take a guest, so identify one and open negotiations (expect to be shafted royally if they get a better offer).

Anyone planning to break into Waterstones in Trafalgar Square should take a leaf out of David Willis’ book. This guy just waltzed right in past the employees, took a seat upstairs and let them close the store while he was still perched upstairs cruising the wifi.

David, a tourist visiting the UK from Texas (and aptly named #waterstonestexan on Twitter), unknowingly entered the store just as it was about to close and headed upstairs to find a chair and use the internet. Fifteen minutes later he went downstairs to leave, only to find himself trapped inside. Yep, the staff had forgotten about him and put down the shutters for the night.

Unlike some of the Twitter recommendations of building a fortress made of books, after setting the alarms off and having a natter to the security guard on the phone, the #waterstonestexan just stood at the window and did a bit of people watching. #missedopportunity!

When he finally got rescued over two hours later, we love that he decided to tweet about his freedom before telling his girlfriend. Lad.

The second prize for ‘lock in of the week’ goes to Sheri Dykes, a 22 year-old graphic designer who swapped ‘Night at the Museum’ for ‘Night at the Train Depot’. Sheri ‘might have been a bit tipsy’ when she got on the wrong train home and fell asleep for the whole journey after a night in the pub. Bit tipsy? Yeah Sheri, we believe you.

We’ve all been there: drunk and bored in a hot carriage on a late journey home, the gentle ululations of the train rocking you to sleep. But not everyone ends up locked in an empty train for five hours. Only Sherri Dykes. So here’s what happened: instead of boarding her usual Enfield Overground service to Rectory Road, Sheri accidentally got on a train from Liverpool Street to Chingford. Whoops.

Having fallen asleep almost immediately she woke to ‘something out of a horror film’. Poor Sheri was trapped in a parked train, in the dark, with only a dead phone for company, no doubt freaking herself out with memories of the 2004 tube-based horror film ‘Creep‘. Thankfully she wasn’t stalked by a disturbed, deformed killer and, after accepting her unfortunate predicament, decided to settle down for another little nap.

And in a slightly anti-climactic end to the story, at 7am the next morning the train driver discovered her asleep on the seats, woke her up and drove her back to Chingford station. The end.

Earlier this week, retail beast Amazon announced plans to introduce delivery via drones within the next five years. Sure, what could possibly go wrong with unmanned robots picking up packages and flying them to customers’ houses? The announcement was met with a few (thousand) raised eyebrows.

The news was quickly trumped, though, by Waterstones, who revealed plans for an innovative delivery system of their own: OWLS (the Ornithological Waterstones Landing Service). For those of you not familiar with Harry Potter (come on, hands up) this is based on JK Rowling’s idea of owl post, in which our feathered friends cleverly carry letters and packages in their beaks. Waterstones claims they could offer this very service for a mere £2.75 (subject to inflation between now and the future launch).

Waterstones Press Manager Jon Howell (aka ‘Owl’ for the sake of the video) said of the proposal: ’OWLS consists of a fleet of specially trained owls that, either working individually or as an adorable team, will be able to deliver your package within thirty minutes of you placing your order.’ Here he is discussing it in more detail:

Tragically, this idea seems to be more satirical than practical at the moment. But let’s keep our fingers crossed for a time when Christmas cards arrive courtesy of a feathered courier.

Find out more about OWLS here. Alternatively, if you need more of a Harry Potter fix, check out our other HP posts here.

Get the fainting chair ready, folks, because the woman who brought the world twinkling vampires, baby-loving werewolves and KPatz – not to mention saving our economy by inspiring the raunchy ’50 Shades of Grey’ – is coming to London today (March 5). To celebrate the cinema release of ‘The Host‘, Stephanie Meyer is heading to Waterstone’s Piccadilly to sign copies of her book for all you lucky Twihards and Hosties (is that a thing yet?) from 6pm. If you’re a dedicated Meyer fan then start feigning sickness at around 4pm so you can get out of work early as queues are predicted. Carly-Ann Clements

The trouble with a silent film is that you never hear the voices of the people in it. Of course if they’re a dog they can’t speak anyway, but thankfully Uggie, the breakout star of The Artist, has written a book telling his life story, which is sure to delight both dog and silent film enthusiasts. Uggie himself will be ‘signing’ copies of his autobiography at Kensington High Street Waterstones today at 1pm. This is almost definitely your one chance to meet an Oscar-winning canine.

It’s not often that we here at Time Out are star struck. But, this Sunday Smokey the world’s most famous cat-that-purrs-louder-than-normal is doing a book signing at the Oxford Street Waterstone’s (12-3pm). Not the cat – its owner, or author, whatever… the cat will be there. Smokey’s media credentials are extensive and her celebrity is predicted only to grow following the publication of her journey from re-homed mog to international superstar. Everyone loves a rags to riches story and the book has celebrity endorsement from Downing Street’s very own pussy ‘Larry’. With the book described as suitable from 8-adult, it has something for everyone – if everyone has (with the help of the internet) gone absolutely cat crazy.

All in a good cause, the owner will be collecting donations for Battersea Dogs & Cats Home during the ‘pawtograph’ signing.

On your travels around London, you may well have come across ‘Big Issue’ seller and busker James Bowen with his lovely ginger moggy Bob perched on his shoulder. If you have ever wondered about the story behind this unlikely duo, James has penned their poignant tale in his first book ‘A Street Cat Named Bob’ and they will be signing copies in Waterstone’s in Islington Green on March 13 (6pm). Let’s hope Bob will give us a paw print too.

]]>http://now-here-this.timeout.com/2012/03/13/meet-a-street-cat-named-bob/feed/1Norfolk’s finest DJ, the legendary Mr. Alan Partridge, hosts book-signinghttp://now-here-this.timeout.com/2011/10/03/alan-partridge-book/
http://now-here-this.timeout.com/2011/10/03/alan-partridge-book/#commentsMon, 03 Oct 2011 12:00:55 +0000http://now-here-this.timeout.com/?p=34368A-ha! North Norfolk’s foremost radio DJ, Alan Partridge, signs copies of his much-anticipated, wonderfully-titled autobiography, ‘I, Partridge: We Need to Talk About Alan’, at Waterstone’s Piccadilly tomorrow. Kicking off at 5pm, it’s best to get down there early as official Partridge stalker Jed Maxwell will no doubt be fighting for a place in the queue. Whether long-suffered PA Lynn will be on hand to see to Alan’s every need is unconfirmed but looks likely. After all, he is Alan Partridge.